How to Learn Something New Everyday
We all know how difficult it is for any of us to find time to learn something new. I love to obtain new skills and knowledge, but I am struggling to find time for that. Still, I keep trying and will be happy to share a few tricks that helped me and will help you build a daily regime and develop new and useful cognitive habits. Have you ever heard about Microlearning? That is the direction you should take; remember one step at a time.
Make a list of what you have been dreaming of learning
Think, what kind of knowledge and skills you would like to obtain if you were a student now. Explore bookstores and public libraries. They are an excellent source of topics and questions that you might be interested in exploring.
I try to keep on my list consistently from 5 to 8 different topics. Some of them are large-scale, like an academic course in college, rocket science, web development, or geography. But most of them are not so significant. For example, to make or try something for the first time in life, investigate the meaning of some word or an idea that I do not understand. Whatever your desires are, compiling the list will help you make up your mind towards new actions. You also have to learn how to stay motivated.
How to Learn Something New Everyday: Place the Apps on your device differently.
Smartphones and tablets are invaluable resources to help filling out our free time with cognitive information, but sometimes they can become very distracting. Time to clear up your device and to remove all the meaningless games and applications. Move all the social media applications like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook away from the main screen so that each time you try to reach them, you have to spend time searching for them.
In the meantime, while you are looking for a shortcut to access one of those applications, make a conscious effort and open instead of one of those awesome educational apps that you have already installed… yes, place them on the main screen.
Allocate a small amount of time for your studies
I try to dedicate to my daily explorations 5-15-30 minutes depending on the complexity of the task. If we are talking about learning a foreign language, then I need 30 minutes. To listen to an academic course on TED or Curious takes me 15-20 minutes to do so.
How to Learn Something New Everyday: Read e-Books
I regularly fill up my virtual library with new books. I mostly read favorite science books, documentary novels, and books related to business development and digital marketing. One of my favorites is the Kindle application, which is suitable for both: a phone and a tablet and allows you to continue reading at any time. Moreover, I can read several books simultaneously, switching from my new favorite book, Content Inc., to “Brief history of time” by Stephen Hawking.
Create a Cozy Learning Environment
Keep a Sketchbook in front of your eyes so that you will have a chance to practice your skills in Sketching every time you have a free moment. Carry in your bag or backpack a set of cards with foreign words to refresh your language on occasion. See some techniques that can help you to organize your space for maximum productivity.
